Trench-warfare device



' Aug. 19, 1924. 1,505,168

C. E. SPARHAWK TRENCH WARFARE DEVI CE Filed April 5, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l WITNESSES Slaaf/lawn?.

. ATTRNEYS C. E. SPARHAWK TRENCH WARFARE DEvIE Filed Avril 5. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lmNv WITNESSES "4f" lINI/ENTOR @2a/96 E.

A T'TOR NE YQ Patented Aug. 19, 1924.

UNITED STATES 1,505,168 PATENT oral-cn.

TRENCH-WA'REA'RE DEVICE;

Application-filed April 5, 1923. SeratNo. 630,176.

" bev done without too great a hazard or danger to the gunner.

With this in view it is the general object of the presentinventionto provide aprotector or housing adapted to accommodate a gunner together1 with a machine gunor like destructive implement and also'provide means for elevating the housing or protector, said means beingadapted to be positioned in a trench or like excavation.

It is also an important object of the inventionthat the device or apparatusbe of a knock-down structure and` portable;

A. further object of the invention is that means be provided whereby the housing or protector may be rotated by the gunner or other lperson therein and thereby to permit the gunner to accurately direct'the projectiles which he may fire from the-housing.

A still further. object of the invention is that the housing or protector/be easily and quickly lowered and that the gunnerorother person in the housingmay lowerthe sameat will.

It is a still further object of the invention that means be provided whereby the housing or protector may be tilted longitudinally and in either direction and there# by tofurther aidy the gunner in directing his fire toward the enemy.

@ther objects, and objects relating to details' of construction, combination and arrangement Vof parts, will hereinafter appear inthedetailed description to follow.

The inventionisillustrated by way of exampleinthe accompanying drawings, in which y Figure 1 isa perspective view 'illustrati ing., the arrangement of a plurality vof de-` vices of the present invention when employedin trench warfare, v

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the linea-t of Figure Biwhen looking upward,

Figure 5 is a-sectional view taken vsubstantially onthe line 5-'-5 of Figure 2 and whenlookingin the direction of thearro'w's.

Likereferen'ce numerals designate correspondingparts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring toA the drawings in= detail, 10 indicates generally a base which maybe plate-like in formation as shownandwhich is preferably supported by a'pluralityy of rollers 11; The baseis formed with an up# standing cylinder 12, the upper end 'of which isprovided with a closure 13 havingformed therein a plurality'of'ports 14;. Upon the cylinder 12 there may bese'cured adjacent the' lower 'end lthereof a pair of" pump .cylinders 15, eachv of 'which' is'provicletlwith a suit able pistony or` plunger i and connected to' the handlel, asat 17, said :handle 1K6" being pivotally supp`orted,l as 'at18,l by" suitable bracket arms 19'.l Each cylinder: 15 may communicate with' the atmosphere and also with the interior of theV cylinder: 12 through one-'way valves" of any Aconventional con'- str'uction. n end yof the cylinder" 12 there is "provided an' outletv valve'v 20 whiclrmayy be operated through abelllcrank lever21`. The purpose ofthisvalvewill later become apparent.

rod 2 6.` Eachrod"26telescopically receives a tubular memberA 27 at itsf'outei'1i endI anda suitable lock. lever 28" isv carried by each tubular member27, 'whereby'the same may be adj ust'ablyV held upon the associated trod' 26. Each tubular member 27 terminates aty its outerend4 in l'a circi'ilar'fhead 28,'said'headf having formed'upon'itsfront Vfac'ea spike or tooth 29. f

Adjacentthe'bottoni or lower f screw plug 45.

preferably secured to the pin 43 so that thek lVithin the cylinder 12 there is slidable a piston head 30, said piston he-ad being provided with suitable packing rings as shown yand being rigidly connected to a post 32,

rcarry a lock nut 36, whereby the head 33 may be adjustably locked in an adjusted position with relation to the post 32. The head 33 is formed with a central and vertical bore 37 which is adapted to receive a stub shaft or spindle 38. The spindle 38 is formed adjacent its lower end with an annular groove 39. The head 33 is provided with a boss 4G which is provided with a bore 4l adapted to receive the head 42 of the pin 43, said pin projecting through a reduced inner end portion of the bore 4l and its` free end being disposed within the annular groove 39 of the spindle 38. A coil spring 44 is adapted to press the pin 43 inwardly, and this coil spring is held in position by a Also the coil spring 44-is same may be utilized in withdrawing the pin from the groove 39.

The housing or protector, generally indicated by the reference numeral 46, may comprise a middle section 47, a rear end section 48 and a forward section 49. The sections 47 and 48 are preferably cylindrical in shape and threadedly connected to each other, as at 50. The section 49 tapers toward its for-` ward end and is threadedly connected to section 47, as at 5l. The section 49 may have a small opening 52 in its forward end, the purpose of which will later be described.

The housing section 47 is formed with an exterior boss 53 which is provided with a bore centrally thereof, and said bore communicating with the interior of the housing section 47. The spindle 38 is positioned in the bore of the boss 53 and the upper end portion 54 of the spindle is squared as shown in Figure 3. Also the spindle 38 terminates at its upper end in a squared head 55 and the bore of the rstud 53 is adapted toseat this head and in this way rigidly secure the housing to the spindle 38. lBetween the boss 53 and the upper end of the head member 33 there is interposed ball bearings 56 and thereby to facilitate the turning movement of the housing' 46. The boss 53 of the housing section 47 is formed with sprocket teeth 58, over which there-is trained a sprocket chain 59, said sprocket chain being also trained over a sprocket Wheel 60 rotatably supported by. a section 49. The sprocket wheel 60 may have ball bearings 6l associated therewith to facilitate turning movement `thereof and within the section 49 there is provided a crank 62 whereby the sprocket wheel 6l may be rot-ated by the gunner or other person within the housing 46, and in this way revolve the housing 46.

l/Vithin the housing 46 there may be posi tioned a machine gun, generally indicated by the reference numeral 63, which may be supported b-y the usual tripod 64. The barrel of this machine gun may extend through the opening 52 of the housing section 49 and the opening 52 should be sufficiently large to permit a gunner' 65 to see the sights of the machine gun and also to see the enemy.

Also it should be noted that the section 47 of the housing is provided with an opening 67 through which the gunner may speak to those below. Furthermore, a cable 68 may have its one end connected to the tripod 64 rorfother suitable means within the housing 46 and its other end connected to the'bellf crank lever 2l, as illustrated to advantage in Figure 2, whereby to provide means by which the gunner or person wit-hin the housing 46 may open the lower end of the cylinder l2 and permit the 'housing to descend.

Referring to Figure l, 68 indicates a. trench and 69 indicates plurality of passages leading to this trench. As' shown in this ligure a number of these devices are ar ranged in the trench 68 and the housing 46 of each device has been elevated so that the gunner therein is brought to a level for firing at the enemy disclosed at a distance for ward to the trench 68.

In utilizing the present device the same may be in a disassembled state, that is, the housing 46 may be knocked down or disassembled, the post 32 lowered and the brace members 27 moved inward upon the brace rods 26 and folded upon the cylinder The sections ofV the housing may be braced in any suitable manner upon the platform or base lO, and if desired one Aor more persons may draw the device when in this condition to a trench and bring the same to a desired position in said trench. The housing 46 may thenl be assembled and placed upon the head 33, ythat is, the spindle 38 may be positioned in this head 33 and then the pin 43 brought to its locking position. The brace members 47 may now be moved outwardly7 upon the rods 26 and brought to engage the sidewalls of the trench as illustrated to advantage in Figures 2 and 3. These members may be adjusted as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 so that the greatest bracing action therefrom for the device may be had. rThe gunner may take his position within the housing 46 and then one or more persons may operate the air pumps carried lOl) by the cylinder lfand: heretoforedescribed, whereby to supply suliicient compressed; air to raise the. housingto the position desired. j As shown in the drawings vthe hous ing .should be Vraised to. such position. that the barrel of the gun 63 will Vproject. above the trench wall. Vhen .the gunner is in this position he mayutilize the crank mem ber G2 for revolvingthe housing in order to bring his gun in theproper position.. Also as heretofore stated the openingz may per mit a slight up and down motion of thegun 63 and thcreforeto aidthe gunner in tiring upon the enemy. Should the gunner wish to have the housing tilted in either direction with respect to its length he may inform those below by speaking through the opening 67 and those informed may loosen the nut 36 and tilt the housing the desired degree and in the desired direction. It might be here stated that with the gunner in the position shown in Figure 3, the housing is substantially balanced and, therefore, the housing could be adjustably tilted in an easy manner. Also it might be mentioned that in case the gunner needs ammunition the same may be passed upwardly through the opening 67 of the housing section 47. In case that the gunner wishes to quickly descend then he need only draw upwardly on the rope 68, whereby to open the valve 2O and thus relieve the pressure beneath the piston 30 and permit the housing 46 to descend.

It should be further mentioned that with a device of this character the housing 46 is better adapted to accommodate a gunner of relatively small stature and in this way to provide means whereby small persons may be efliciently employed in trench warfare. It should also be observed that while I have shown my device employed in connection with trench warfare it is apparent that the same may be placed in any eXca vation which would not represent a trench and utilized with equal advantages.

It should be pointed out that the device can be easily and quickly disassembled and thus in case of a barrage of the enemy the present device could be taken down and moved to some safer place in the trench or moved into a dug-out. Furthermore, the protector or housing should be made of material which would resist the impact of projectiles from small gun re.

Also in order to further brace the device guy wires or cables 70 may be employed.

Wlhile I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, I wish it to be understood that I am aware of the fact that the construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be changed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as indicated by the appended claims.

l. In combination, a running gear adapted to be positioned in a trench or excavation, anelongated housing supported by said running gear, said housing being' adaptedr to accommodate a person and having an opening in its one end through which projectiles may `beired by sai-d, person, means for elevatingy said housing' with respect to the running gear, and. means whereby said' housing maybe tilted iii-either direction with respect to, its length.

2. Ina trench warfare device, a horizontally elongated housing having its forward end provided with an opening through which projectiles may be fired, said housing being adapted to accommodate a person in a reclining position and having its rear end open to facilitate entry into and eXit from said housing, supporting means for said housing, said supporting means including elements adjustable vertically relative to each other so that the elevation lof the housing may be varied, a Yconnection between the housing and the supporting means, said connection having a part fixed to the housing and a part tiltably secured to one of the elements of the supporting means, the parts of the connection being rotatably secured to each other, and manually operable means controllable by the person within the housing' and effect-ive to rotate the housing relative to the supporting means.

3. In a trench warfare device, a horizontally elongated housing having an end provided with an opening through which projectiles may be fired, said housing being adapted to accommodate a person in a re clining position, supporting means for said housing, said supporting means including elements adjustable vertically relative to each other so that the elevation of the housing may be varied, a connection between the housing and the supporting means, said connection having a part fixed to the housing and a part secured to one of the elements of the supporting means, the parts of the connection being `rotatably secured to each other, and manually operable means controllable by the person within the housing and effective'to rotate the housing relative to the supporting means.

4. In a trench warfare device, a housing provided with an opening through which projectiles may be fired, said housing being adapted to accommodate a person in a reclining position, supporting means for the housing including a vertical cylinder arranged in the trench, a piston in said cylinder, air pumps operable from within the trench and connected with the cylinder whereby the piston may be elevated within the cylinder to the desired degree, a post. connected to the piston and upstanding from trench and connected With the cylinder whereby the piston may be elevated Within the cylinder to the desired degree, a post connected to the piston and upstanding from the cylinder, a connection between the postl and the housing including a part fixed to the housing and a part connected to the post, said parts being relatively rotatable With respect to each other and manually operable means controllable by the person in the housing and effective to rotate the housing relative to the supporting means. CHARLES E. SPARHAVVK. 

